Television System Having Digital Buffers for Programming

ABSTRACT

A television is provided. The television includes an interface for connecting the television to a network, such as the Internet. The television also includes digital buffers internal to the television for digitally storing digital programming data obtained from a digital provider. The television being accessible through a graphical user interface over the Internet from a remote computing device. The graphical user interface providing a control panel for displaying status and at least one control including a control for playing or recording of certain channels at least partially to the digital buffers that are internal to the television.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This application claims priority under 35 USC §120 as a continuationapplication of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/115,021, filed onApr. 25, 2005, which is a divisional application and claims 35 U.S.C.§120 priority from U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/098,279, filedJun. 16, 1998, and such application claims benefit of priority under 35U.S.C. 119(e) of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/051,489, filed Jul.1, 1997, the contents of each application listed herein is herebyincorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to data transmissions over a network, andmore particularly, to remote monitoring and control of articles over anetwork.

2. Description of the Related Art

Remote monitoring of buildings or grounds is often done for securityreasons. One conventional approach to remote monitoring of buildings andgrounds uses a series of cameras position throughout the building andaround the grounds. These cameras are then directly wired to a centralmonitoring location where a security guard sits and is able to view theimages from the various cameras. By viewing the images at the centralmonitoring location, the security guard is able to detect a securitybreach when the images show an unauthorized person within the buildingor on the grounds. This conventional approach to remote monitoring isexpensive to implement because specialized equipment and personnel arerequired. The central monitoring location is normally in a fixedlocation which is on-site or nearby.

Security systems, such as for a home, often protect the perimeter of thebuilding along with one or more internal sensors. The internal sensorscan, for example, include motion sensors, light beams, and the like.Cameras are not normally a part of a home security system. However, whencameras are provided, they generally operate to continuously record soas to presumably provide images of any intruders. Hence, the camera is asecondary part of the security system which does not activelyparticipate in detecting an intruder. In any case, when the securitysystem detects an intruder, an alarm is normally sounded and automatictelephone notification may be provided to the local police and/or acentral office of a security company. Although, in most cases, no remotemonitoring of the images provided by the camera is available, U.S. Pat.Nos. 5,164,979 and 5,412,708 describe approaches which use telephonelines to send images off-site for safe archive or for remote monitoring.

Remote monitoring is also done for a variety of other purposes. As anexample, U.S. Pat. No. 5,553,609 describes a remote visual monitoringsystem for in-home patient health care from a remote location via atelephone line.

WebCams have recently been use to provide remote viewing of variouslocations. For example, WebCams may be used to view traffic conditions,sea conditions, home locations, fish tanks, and many other things.However, the operation of these WedCams is problematic because of thehigh bandwidth requirements to transmit video from the camera serving asthe WebCam and its server and viewers. The existing solution to limitthe bandwidth utilization is to periodically transmit still images froma camera to an Internet server after a predetermined period of time.Then, for viewers of the images over the Internet, an Internet browsercan access the still images from the Internet server and display theimages on their computer system. Again, however, to limit bandwidthrequirements, the Internet browser only periodically accesses (orreceives by a push from) the Internet server to retrieve the newestimages after a predetermined period of time. For example, thepredetermined period of time between transmissions is generallyselectable from a few options such as 30 seconds, 60 seconds, 1 minute,and 5 minutes. Although this conventional approach does limit thebandwidth utilization, the amount of bandwidth being utilized isnevertheless largely wasted when the image is not significantlychanging.

Thus, there is a need for improved approaches to remotely monitor alocation.

SUMMARY

Broadly speaking, the invention relates to improved techniques toremotely monitor locations, to detect activity, and to remotely monitorand control devices or appliances, such as televisions, through anetwork. In one embodiment, the network in the Internet and thetransmission is facilitated by an Internet server or electronic mail.

In one embodiment, a television is provided. The television includes aninterface for connecting the television to a network, such as theInternet. The television also includes digital buffers internal to thetelevision for digitally storing digital programming data obtained froma digital provider. The television being accessible through a graphicaluser interface over the Internet from a remote computing device. Thegraphical user interface providing a control panel for displaying statusand at least one control including a control for playing or recording ofcertain channels at least partially to the digital buffers that areinternal to the television.

In another embodiment, a television is disclosed. The televisionincludes a connection for connecting to a network. The television alsoincludes digital buffers internal to the television for digitallystoring digital media obtained from a digital provider. The televisionis accessible through a graphical user interface. At least part of thegraphical user interface or program associated with the graphical userinterface is accessible over the network from a remote device. Thegraphical user interface provides a control panel for displaying statusand at least one control including a control for recording or playingthe digital media at the television.

In yet another embodiment, a television is disclosed. The televisionincludes a connection for interfacing the television to a network. Thenetwork includes the Internet. The television further includes digitalbuffers internal to the television for digitally storing digital dataobtained from a digital provider over the Internet. The digital buffersare accessible to enable playing of any stored or partially recordeddigital data present in or transferred to the digital buffers of thetelevision.

In another embodiment, a television system is disclosed. The televisionsystem includes a connection for interfacing the television system to anetwork, where the network including the Internet. The television systemfurther includes digital buffers internal to the television system fordigitally storing digital programming data obtained from a digitalprovider over the Internet. The digital buffers are accessible to playany stored or recorded digital programming data present in the digitalbuffers.

In another embodiment, a television is disclosed. The televisionincludes an interface for connecting the television to a network, wherethe network including the Internet. Further included are digital buffersinternal to the television for digitally storing digital programmingdata obtained from a digital provider. A graphical user interface can beprovided and made accessible over the Internet. The graphical userinterface can provide a control panel for displaying status and at leastone control including a control for recording of certain channels to thedigital buffers that are internal to the television.

In still another embodiment, a television system is disclosed. Thetelevision system includes a connection for connecting to a network, andthe network includes the Internet. The television system includesdigital buffers internal to the television system for digitally storingdigital programming data obtained from a digital provider. Thetelevision system can be associated with a graphical user interface thatis accessible over the Internet. The graphical user interface canprovide a control panel for displaying status and at least one controlincluding a control for recording of certain channels to the digitalbuffers that are internal to the television system.

Other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent fromthe following detailed description, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, illustrating by way of example the principles ofthe invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be readily understood by the followingdetailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings,wherein like reference numerals designate like structural elements, andin which:

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a system of interconnected computers according toan embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a representative embodiment of theinternal layout of a home location according to an embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 3 illustrates an arrangement of multiple cameras according to anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of another representative embodiment ofthe internal layout of the home location in which multiple locations aremonitored with a single camera according to an embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 5A illustrates an arrangement of a single camera and multiple fiberoptic cables according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5B is schematic diagram of a camera apparatus according to anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a visual monitoring system according to anembodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 7A and 7B are diagrams illustrating a reference image and acurrent image according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram of local image processing according to anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 9A is a flow diagram of local image processing according to anotherembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 9B is a flow diagram of remote image processing at a remotecomputer according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 9C is a flow diagram of view processing at a remote computeraccording to an embodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 10A and 10B are flow diagrams of remote request processingaccording to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 11 is a flow diagram of local request processing according to anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 12 is a flow diagram of local status processing according to anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 13 is a flow diagram of local control processing according to anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 14 is a graphical user interface (GUI) window for a remote computeraccording to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 15 is another GUI window for a remote computer according to anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 16 is a GUI window suitable for displaying on a remote computerscreen according to an embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 17 is a GUI window suitable for displaying on a remote computerscreen according to another embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to improved techniques to remotely monitorlocations, to detect activity, and to remotely monitor and controldevices or appliances through a network. In one embodiment, the networkis the Internet and the transmission is facilitated by an Internetserver or electronic mail.

The remote monitoring of locations is provided by efficientlytransmitting images over the network to a remote machine located at aremote location. In one embodiment, the efficiency is facilitated bycomparing a current image with a reference image, and then onlytransmitting the current image if it differs from the reference image bymore than a predetermined threshold amount. The remote monitoring canalso operate as an alarm system or provide intruder detection based ondetected changes in images from a locally provided camera.

The remote monitoring and controlling of controllable devices isprovided by sending control information to and receiving statusinformation from information appliances over a network. A user is thusable to not only monitor the information appliances from a remotelocation, but also control the information appliances from the remotelocation. In another embodiment, the information appliances may includean electronic home control panel that is wired to various controllabledevices (e.g., sprinkler system, water heating system, air conditionersystem, etc.) throughout a home or building. The remote monitoring andcontrol can be facilitated by graphical user interfaces.

Embodiments of the invention are discussed below with reference to FIGS.1-17. However, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that thedetailed description given herein with respect to these figures is forexplanatory purposes as the invention extends beyond these limitedembodiments.

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a system 100 of interconnected computers. Thesystem 100 includes a home location 102 where visual monitoring mayoccur from a remote location. The home location 102 is typically abuilding or some other structure, and the visual monitoring is typicallyof an internal region of the building, the building's grounds, or otherstructure. The home location 102 couples to the Internet 104 through acommunications link 106. Accordingly, the home location 102 preferablyincludes an image controller that couples to the communications link 106through a wired modem, wireless modem or cellular link.

The Internet 104 is a global network of interconnected computers. Aremote computer 108 also couples to the Internet through acommunications link 110. The remote computer 108 is located at alocation that is remote with respect to the home location 102. Forexample, the remote computer 108 might be at one's place of employmentor might be a portable computer that travels with its user. Thecommunications links 106, 110 can be implemented in a number of ways.For example, the communications link 106 can be implemented as a modemat the home location 102 that connects through a telephone line to amodem of an Internet Service Provider (ISP) which in turn connects tothe Internet 104. In another embodiment, the communications links 106and 110 may be high speed coaxial lines (i.e., cable TV lines) that aresuited to transmit data, video and audio in a compressed or uncompressedformat.

The system 100 also includes a home monitor server 112 that couples tothe Internet 114 through a communications link 114. The home monitorserver 112 preferably stores images for the home location 102 and aplurality of other like home locations. Persons wishing then to remotelyview the images of their home location can access the home monitorserver 112 via the Internet 104. In one embodiment, the communicationslink 114 is a high speed link such as a T1 or T2 line.

The system 100 may also include an ISP 116 that couples to the Internet118 to provide wireless access to the Internet 104. The ISP 116 includesan antenna 120 that transmits and receives radio signals to and from awireless computer 122 having an antenna 124, thus providing a wirelesslink 126. Hence, the user of the wireless computer 122 is also able toaccess the home monitor server 112 to remotely view the images of theirhome via the wireless link 126, the ISP 116, the communication link 118and the Internet 104.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram 200 of a representative embodiment of theinternal layout of the home location 102. The schematic diagram 200depicts rooms 202, 204, 206 and 208, windows 210 and 212, and doors 214,216, 217 and 218. The window 210 is in the room 204, and the window 212is in the room 208. The door 214 is an external door, and the doors 216,217 and 218 are internal doors.

The schematic diagram 200 also depicts an image controller 220 and acamera 222. The camera 222 is coupled to the image controller 220, andthe image controller 220 is coupled to the Internet 104 via a line 224(e.g., phone line, coaxial cable line, etc.). The line 224 serves aspart of the communication link 106. The camera 222 is depicted as beingpositioned in the room 206 and being directed at the door 218. Hence,the image obtained by the camera 222 is primarily an area in front ofthe door 218. However, the camera 222 may be panned, zoomed, tilted orotherwise controlled by the remote user to view other areas of the roombased on the remote user's viewing preference.

In general, the camera 222 can be directed at any internal region in thehome location 102. There may also be a multiple of cameras positionedthroughout the home location 102.

FIG. 3 illustrates an arrangement 300 of multiple cameras. Inparticular, the arrangement 300 includes a first video camera (VC1) 302,a second video camera (VC2) 304, and a third video camera (VC3) 306. Thefirst video camera (VC1) is directed at a window 308, the second videocamera is directed at a room 310, and the third video camera (VC3) isdirected at a door 312. Each of the video cameras 302, 304 and 306 iscoupled to the image controller 220 which in turn couples to theInternet 104 via the line 224. The image controller 220 is this able toprovide images from each of the cameras 302, 304 and 306 over theInternet 104. The image controller 220 can operate in a variety of ways.Specifically, the image controller 220 can operate to forward one ormore images from one of the cameras 302, 304 and 306 to the Internet104, or the image controller 220 can multiplex the images from thecameras 302, 304 and 306 and then forward them to the Internet 104. Ineither case, preferably, the images are forwarded to the home monitorserver 112 which facilitates viewing of the images through the Internet104.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram 400 of another representative embodimentof the internal layout of the home location 102 in which multiplelocations are monitored with a single camera. Like the schematic diagram200 in FIG. 2, the schematic diagram 400 depicts rooms 202, 204, 206 and208, windows 210 and 212, and doors 214, 216, 217 and 218. The schematicdiagram 400 also depicts the image controller 220 and a camera apparatus402. The camera apparatus 402 is coupled to the image controller 220over a wire or cable 404, and the image controller 220 is coupled to theInternet 104 via the line 224 (e.g., phone line, coaxial cable line,etc.). As mentioned above, the line 224 serves as part of thecommunication link 106. The camera apparatus 402 is depicted as beingpositioned in the room 206 and operating to support acquisition of aplurality of images. In particular, the camera apparatus 402 opticallycouples to optical cables 406-412 (e.g., fiber optic lines) so as toalternatively retrieve an image from different locations in response toa remote user's command. The optical cable 406 is used in obtaining animage of the room 206, the optical cable 408 is used in obtaining animage of the room 208, the optical cable 410 is used in obtaining animage of the room 202, and the optical cable 412 is used in obtaining animage of the room 208. Although the location illustrated in FIG. 4 areinternal to the home location 102, the one or more of the images couldalso correspond to external locations of the home location 102.

FIG. 5A illustrates an arrangement 500 of a single camera and multiplefiber optic cables. In particular, the arrangement 500 includes a firstfiber optic cable (FB1) 502, a second fiber optic cable (FB2) 504, and athird fiber optic cable (FB3) 506. The first fiber optic cable (FB1) 502is directed at a window 508, the second fiber optic cable (FB2) 504 isdirected at a room 510, and the third fiber optic cable (FB3) isdirected at a door 512. Each of the fiber optic cables 502-506 iscoupled to a camera apparatus 514 that services each of the fiber opticcables 502-506. In one embodiment, the camera apparatus 514 may includea single camera that may be selectively coupled (e.g., by a remote userby way of the Internet 104) to any one of the fiber optic cables 502-506at any given point in time. The camera apparatus 514 thus producesimages from each of the fiber optic cables 502-506. Additionally, thecamera apparatus 514 is connected to the image controller 220 which inturn couples to the Internet 104 via the line 224. The image controller220 is thus able to provide images from the camera apparatus 514 overthe Internet 104.

FIG. 5B is schematic diagram of a camera apparatus 550 according to anembodiment of the invention. The camera apparatus 550 is suitable for avariety of implementations, including the camera apparatus 402 of FIG. 4and the camera apparatus 514 of FIG. 5A. For ease of understanding, thecamera apparatus 550 is discussed with reference to its use as thecamera apparatus 402 of FIG. 4. In this embodiment, the camera apparatus550 includes a camera 552 that rotates within the camera apparatus 550so as to couple to different fiber optic cables and thus acquire aplurality of images. In this embodiment, the image may be in the form ofa still image (e.g., JPEG), or in the form of a plurality of frames thatare either compressed (e.g., MPEG) or uncompressed. The camera apparatus550 also includes optical interfaces 554-560 for optically coupling afiber optic cable to the camera 552. Specifically, when the camera 552is directed at the optical interface 554, the camera 552 is opticallycoupled to the fiber optic cable 406, and thus acquires an image of theroom 206. Likewise, when the camera 552 is directed at the opticalinterface 556, the camera 552 is optically coupled to the fiber opticcable 408 and acquires an image of the room 204; when the camera 552 isdirected at the optical interface 558, the camera 552 is opticallycoupled to the fiber optic cable 410 and acquires an image of the room202; and when the camera 552 is directed at the optical interface 560,the camera 552 is optically coupled to the fiber optic cable 412 andacquires an image of the room 208. The rotation of the camera 552 allowsthe camera 552 to couple to different ones of the optical interfaces554-560. The rotation of the camera 552 can be controlled in a number ofways so as to acquire the images in various sequences, resolutions, andtimings. In general, the camera apparatus 550 is controlled by the imagecontroller 220.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a visual monitoring system 600 according toan embodiment of the invention. The visual monitoring system 600 is, forexample, provided within the home location 102 to monitor one or moreareas at the home location 102.

The visual monitoring system 600 includes an image controller 602 andone or more cameras 604. The camera(s) 604 produce images of the areasbeing monitored. The image controller 602 receives the images from thecamera(s) 604 and controls the transmission of images to facilitateremote viewing of the images. The images are transmitted over a link 606that couples the image controller 602 directly or indirectly to theInternet 104. For example, the link 606, which couples the imagecontroller 602 to the Internet 104, may operate in conjunction with amodem that couples to a phone line or wireless modem for dial-up accessto the Internet 104 via an Internet Service Provider (ISP).

The image controller 602 includes a buffer 608 that receives and storesthe images from the camera(s) 604. A reference image storage 610 storesone or more reference images. In general, the reference image storage610 stores a reference image for each of the cameras (or areas monitoredby the camera(s)). Hereafter, for ease of understanding, it is assumethat there is a single camera which monitors a single area. A comparisonunit 612 compares the reference image from the reference image storage610 with the current image from the buffer 608 to produce a comparisonresult.

The comparison result is forwarded to an image transmission unit 614 anda notification unit 616. The image transmission unit 614 operates totransmit the current image from the buffer 608 to the Internet 104through the link 606 when the comparison result indicates an updatecondition. Also, with the camera(s) 604 optionally including motiondetectors 617 proximately located or integral thereto, the motiondetectors 617 can also provide an indication of an update condition tothe notification unit 616. On the other hand, the image transmissionunit 614 operates to prevent the transmission of the current image fromthe buffer 608 to the Internet 104 when the comparison result does notindicate an update condition. Consequently, the image controller 602 isefficiently using the bandwidth of the communication connection to theInternet 104 because the current image is not transmitted unless theupdate condition has been detected.

The notification unit 616 is provided to notify an interested person ofthe update condition. There are a variety of ways the notification unit616 can notify the interested user, namely, telephone, cellular phone,pager, electronic mail (i.e., e-mail), facsimile, etc. In oneembodiment, the image can be transmitted as a file transfer over theInternet 104 and the interested person can be notified by pager. Inanother embodiment, the image can be transmitted to a hosting Internetserver, and the interested user is then able to view the image byaccessing the Internet server via a web browser application programexecuting on a computer (e.g., remotely located computer). In stillanother embodiment, the transmission of the image and its notificationfor the interested user can both be performed by sending an electronicmail message to the interested person, where the electronic mail messageincludes a textual, visual or audio notification and may have the imagebeing transmitted as an attachment to the electronic mail message. Theattached image is thereafter able to be remotely viewed by theinterested user by a variety of approaches. One approach is for theattached image to be launchable (automatically or manually) into aviewer. Another approach is for the interested user to start anapplication program which is able to display the image(s). Still anotherapproach is for the computer system to display the image(s). Yet anotherapproach is for the computer system receiving the electronic mailmessage to automatically display the incoming image on the displayscreen (e.g., within a window, border or screen saver of the displayscreen). In one embodiment, once the image is displayed, the user maychose to view the image in a number of formats, including, as a stillJPEG picture, or a plurality of moving MPEG pictures. Of course, if theuser desires only a quick view, the still picture may be selectedthrough a graphical user interface control panel.

The visual monitoring system 600 may also include an alarm system 618.The alarm system 618 is an independent system that supplies an alarmsignal to the image controller 602 when the alarm is activated(“tripped”). The image transmission unit 614 of the image controller 602may make use of the alarm signal in determining whether to transmit thecurrent image. The notification unit 616 of the image controller 602 mayalso utilize the alarm signal in determining whether to notify aninterested person. In one embodiment, the image transmission unit 614can operate to avoid transmission of images until the presence of thealarm signal, which advantageously reduces demands on bandwidthutilization. In another embodiment, the images could be transmitted inaccordance with the update condition without regard for the alarm signalso as to facilitate continuous remote viewing.

The image controller 602 can be implemented in a number of differentways. For example, the image controller 602 may be implemented by ageneral purpose computer. Alternatively, the image controller 602 couldbe implemented by dedicated special purpose hardware. For example, whenthe image controller 602 is implemented as special purpose hardware, ahome touch screen may be mounted on a wall to allow, for example, a homeowner to selectively enable or disable monitoring of selected rooms whenthe home owner is at home.

FIGS. 7A and 7B are diagrams illustrating a reference image 702 and acurrent image 704. The current image 704 contains a image of an intruder706, whereas the reference image 702 does not. The comparison of thereference image 702 to the current image 704 can be performed in anumber of ways. One way to compare the images is to compare intensityand/or color information of corresponding pixels. The number of pixelsthat differ by more than a minimal amount are deemed changed. Then, thetotal number of the changed pixels is compared against a predeterminedthreshold. When the total number of the changed pixels exceeds thepredetermined amount, the update condition is present; otherwise, theupdate condition is not present. Another approach could superimpose animaginary grid 708, 710 over the image and then produce an averageintensity and/or color for each grid. Then, any of the grids having anaverage that differs by more than a threshold amount would cause theupdate condition to be present.

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram of local image processing 800 according to anembodiment of the invention. The local image processing 800 is, forexample, performed by the image controller 220.

Initially, the local image processing 800 determines 802 whether animage has been received. More particularly, the image controller 220determines whether an image has been received from the camera 222. Next,the image received is stored 804. The image received can be stored inany data storage device internal to or coupled to the image controller220 or a computer implementing the image controller. A decision block806 then determines whether an update condition is present. When theupdate condition is present, the image received is electronicallytransmitted 808 to a remote computer. The local image processing 800then determines 810 whether notification has been requested. If it isdetermined that notification has been requested, then notification isprovided 812 to an interested person. Following the decision block 810directly when no notification is requested and following block 812 whennotification has been requested, the local image processing 800 iscomplete and ends. Further, when the decision block 806 determines thatthe update condition is not present, then the local image processing 800thereafter ends by bypassing blocks 808-812.

FIG. 9A is a flow diagram of local image processing 900 according toanother embodiment of the invention. The local image processing 900begins with a decision block 902 that determines whether the camera isactive. If the camera is not active, then the local image processing 900is complete and ends. On the other hand, when the camera is active, thelocal image processing 900 continues.

The local image processing 900 receives 904 an image from the camera.Then, the retrieved image is compared 906 with a reference image. Next,a decision block 908 determines whether the retrieved image issubstantially different from the reference image. When the retrievedimage is determined to be substantially different from the referenceimage, the retrieved image is compressed 910. Thereafter, the compressedretrieved image is electronically transmitted 912 to a computer at aremote location. A decision block 914 then determines whethernotification has been requested. Here, in one embodiment, thenotification may be requested by the operator of a local computer at thehome location 102. When the decision block 914 determines thatnotification has been requested, then notification is provided 916 to aremote user. On the other hand, the block 916 is bypassed whennotification is not requested.

Following block 916, following the decision block 914 when notificationis not requested, and following decision block 908 when the images arenot substantially different, the local image processing 900 returns torepeat block 902 and subsequent blocks for additional images beingretrieved from the camera.

FIG. 9B is a flow diagram of remote image processing 920 at a remotecomputer. The remote image processing 920 is preferably performed by aremote computer, such as the computer 108, the home monitor server 112or the wireless computer 122 illustrated in FIG. 1. As a furtherexample, the wireless computer 122 may be hand held personal computer ororganizer having a wireless modem link or cellular modem link.

The remote image processing 920 begins with a decision block 922 thatdetermines whether a transmitted image has been received at the remotecomputer. When the decision block 922 determines that the transmittedimage has not yet been received, then the remote image processing 920waits until the reception of such image. Once the decision block 922determines that the transmitted image has been received, then the remoteimage processing 920 continues.

The received transmitted image is stored 924 to data storage provided bythe remote computer. Next, decision block 926 determines whethernotification has been requested. Here, the notification is requested bythe user of the remote computer in most cases, though others could alsorequest the notification. If the decision block 926 determines thatnotification has been requested, then notification is provided 928 inthe manner requested. Following the block 928 as well as following thedecision block 926 when no notification is requested, the remote imageprocessing 920 is complete and ends.

FIG. 9C is a flow diagram of view processing 940 at a remote computer.The remote computer as was the case in FIG. 8B, can be the computer 108,the home monitor server 112 or the wireless computer 122. The remotecomputer performing the view processing 940 need not be the same remotecomputer performing the remote image processing 920.

The view processing 940 begins with a decision block 942 that determineswhether a view request has been received. Typically, the view request isgenerated manually by a user of the remote computer or automaticallysuch as by the remote image processing. If the decision block 942determines that a view request has not yet been received, then the viewprocessing 940 waits until the reception of such a request. Once thedecision block 942 determines that a view request has been received, theview processing 940 continues. The view processing 940 then selects 944image(s) to be viewed 944. Here, the user is able to preferably selectone or more images to be concurrently viewed on a display device. Next,the selected image(s) are decompressed 946. In this embodiment, weassume that the images were initially stored in a compressed format. Ofcourse, if the images are not being stored in a compressed form, therewould be no need for decompression. The selected images are thendisplayed 948 on a display device. Following block 948, the viewprocessing 940 is complete and ends.

In yet another embodiment of the invention, the remote monitoring oflocations (e.g., a home, business, hospital room, daycare facility) cannot only provide efficient bandwidth utilization as noted above but alsointelligent camera positioning or selection. For example, if theschematic diagram 400 illustrated in FIG. 4 where to represent theinternal layout of a location that provides daycare services, then thevarious areas (e.g., rooms but could also include external areas such asa playground area) could be monitored with a single camera.Alternatively, the various areas could be monitored using a plurality ofcameras. The intelligent camera positioning or selection thus allows aremote viewer to rapidly identify the particular one or more of thevarious areas being monitored that they desire to view using the imagesfrom the associated cameras. The intelligent selection will be describedwith reference to an example where the location is a daycare facilityand a parent desires to remotely monitor their child's activities,behavior and treatment. With this example, then the parent remotelydesiring to monitor their child has difficulty determining which the oneor more cameras that depict their child at any given point in timebecause the child tends to move about at the daycare facility and thusfrequently leaves the images of some cameras and comes into images ofother cameras. It is therefore a time consuming task for a parent toconstantly have to search for the appropriate camera that is capturingthe images of their child. The intelligent camera selection offered byone aspect of the invention eliminates this burden from the parent byautomatically determining an appropriate camera for a particular remoteviewer (e.g., parent).

There are several ways to provide intelligent camera selection. One wayis to have the remote viewer initially identify their child, then themonitoring system tracks the identified child about the location andautomatically select the most appropriate view for the remote viewer towatch. The tracking could be performed by requiring the children at thelocation to wear different colors, and then the monitoring system isable to track the children by color. Another way to perform the trackingis to have the children carry radio transmitters with distinctivefrequencies or data identifiers, and for the monitoring system toinclude one or more receivers to locate the most appropriate camerabased on the strength of the signals or be a triangulation technique.The transmitters can be small low power devices than transmit a shortburst of information every so often (e.g., every 1-5 minutes). Stillanother way is for the children to include Global Positioning Systemdevices to location their global position, and then transmitting data(by any of a variety of ways) of their global position to the monitoringsystem which then in turn identifies the most appropriate camera viewfor an identified child. The remote viewer would normally still beallowed to manually select an area or view to monitor if so desired.Besides monitoring children, the monitoring system can also be used totrack other individuals or animals in similar ways.

In the above-described embodiments, images were obtained from camerasand transmitted. These images can refer to still camera images, videoimages, and the like. The format of the images can also take many form,namely JPEG, PICT, TIF, MPEG, etc. Still further, audio information mayalso be provided to the remote viewer apart or together with the images.

The notifications provided to a remote user or interested person can beachieved in a variety of ways. For example, the notification can be bytelephone (wired or cellular), paging, electronic mail, or Internetnotifications. The telephone notification can play a message, the pagercan display a message, and the electronic mail message can contain atext, audio and/or visual message. The Internet notifications can use“push” technology to notify or forward images to a remote user orinterested person. “Push” technology is, for example, described in PCMagazine, vol. 16, no. 11, pp. 156-180 (1997) which is herebyincorporated by reference.

The invention also relates to remote monitoring and controlling ofdevices or appliances. The information appliances are located in, forexample, the home location 102, and the remote monitoring is facilitatedby the Internet 104 such that a remote user at a remote computer is ableto both monitor and control information appliances at the home location102 using the Internet 104. The processing carried out at the localmachine and the remote machine are described below for embodiments ofthe invention.

FIGS. 10A and 10B are flow diagrams of remote request processing 1000according to an embodiment of the invention. The remote requestprocessing 1000 begins by displaying 1002 a status request form on adisplay for the remote computer. Next, the user of the remote computercompletes 1004 the status request form so as to indicate the particularinformation appliances for which status information is desired. Forexample, the user may request status information for an alarm system,VCR, digital TV programming or other home entertainment controls, homeutilities including lighting, heating, cooling, sprinkler system, andthe like. The completed status request form is then sent 1006 to a localcomputer.

Next, a decision block 1008 determines whether a reply message has beenreceived from the local computer in response to the completed statusrequest form. If the reply message has not been received, the remoterequest processing 1000 awaits its receipt. Once the reply message hasbeen received, the remote request processing 1000 continues.

When the remote request processing 1000 continues, the reply message isparsed 1010 for the status information. Next, the status informationform is displayed 1012 at the remote computer. In this embodiment, thestatus information is presented to the user at the remote computer inthe status information form that is displayed at the remote computer.Preferably, the status information form is a window of a graphical userinterface that displays the status information for the variousinformation appliances in a manner that is easily understood by theuser. Next, a decision block 1014 determines whether control isrequested. Here, the remote request processing 1000 determines whetherthe user also desires to control one or more of the informationappliances associated with the system. If the remote user does not wishto control any of the information appliances, the remote requestprocessing is complete and ends.

On the other hand, when the remote user does wish to control one or moreinformation appliances, the remote request processing continues. In thisregard, the control request form is then displayed 1016 at the remotecomputer. Next, the user completes 1018 the control request form. Here,the user completes the control request form so as to indicate theactions the user desires for particular information appliances. Forexample, the user may request the control to adjust the temperaturecontrol to 60 degrees F., or turn-on certain lights, or reset the VCR ordigital TV for recording certain channels. The completed control requestform is then sent 1020 to the local computer. Next, a decision block1022 determines whether a confirmation has been received from the localcomputer. If a confirmation has not yet been received, the remoterequest processing 1000 awaits its reception. If the confirmation is notreceived in a predetermined amount of time, the remote requestprocessing 1000 could operate to notify the remote user that the controlrequested for the particular information appliance has not beenconfirmed. In any event, when confirmation is received, the remoterequest processing 1000 is complete and ends.

In other embodiments of the remote request processing 100, theconfirmation may be eliminated or bypassed by a user. Also theconfirmation can be of different types, for example, confirm itstransmission, confirm its receipt, confirm that the informationappliance understands the requests, or confirm that the informationappliance has complied with the request.

FIG. 11 is a flow diagram of local request processing 1100 according toan embodiment of the invention. The local request processing 1100 is forexample performed by a computer at the home location 102. The localrequest processing 1100 begins with a decision block 1102 thatdetermines whether a status request has been received. If a statusrequest has been received at the local computer, local status processingis performed 1104. The local status processing is described in detailbelow with respect to FIG. 12. On the other hand, if the decision block1102 determines that a status request has not been received, orfollowing the performance of the local status processing 1104 when astatus request has been received, a decision block 1106 determineswhether a control request has been received. If a control request hasbeen received, local control processing is performed 1108. The localcontrol processing is described in detail below with respect to FIG. 13.On the other hand, if a control request has not been received, orfollowing the local control processing when a control request has beenreceived, the local request processing 1100 is complete and ends.

FIG. 12 is a flow diagram of local status processing 1200 according toan embodiment of the invention. The local status processing 1200 is, forexample, performed by the block 1104 in FIG. 11.

The local status processing 1200 initially parses 1202 the statusrequest to identify requested status information. The requested statusinformation identifies the particular status information that the remoteuser is requesting. Then, the requested status information is retrieved1204 from data storage to the extent available. The data storage, forexample, could be the data memory storage associated with the localcomputer. In some embodiments, the local computer may periodically pollor otherwise track the status of certain information appliances andmaintains such information in data storage (e.g., disk drive or mainmemory).

Next, a decision block 1206 determines whether additional information isneeded. In other words, the decision block 1206 determines whetheradditional information is needed after the local status processing 1200has attempted to retrieve the requested status information from the datastorage. If additional information is still needed, informationappliances are polled 1208 as needed to obtain the additionalinformation needed. On the other hand, if the decision block 1206determines that additional information is not needed, the block 1208 isbypassed. Next, a reply message is formulated 1210. The reply message isthen sent 1212 to the remote computer. Following block 1212, the localstatus processing 1200 is complete and ends.

FIG. 13 is a flow diagram of local control processing 1300 according toan embodiment of the invention. The local control processing 1300 is,for example, the processing performed by the block 1108 in FIG. 11.

The local control processing 1300 initially parses 1302 the controlrequest to identify the one or more information appliances to becontrolled as well as control actions for each of the informationappliances to be controlled. For example, the information appliancebeing controlled might be an air conditioning unit, and the controlaction might be to cool the home to 65 degrees F. In another example,the information is a VCR or digital TV and the control actions can be torecord channel 7 from 8:00 to 10:00 p.m. on a VCR tape or a digital TVbuffer. In yet another example, the information appliance is a viewmonitoring system and the control action could be to turn-on.

Next, one of the identified information appliances to be controlled isselected 1304. Then, control signals to stimulate the selectedinformation appliance to carry out the requested control actions areformulated 1306. The control signals are then sent 1308 to the selectedinformation appliance. The manner with which the control signals aresent 1308 can vary from appliance to appliance, and might include lightbeams (infrared light, ultraviolet light), radio waves, or electricallyconductive wires. Next, a decision block 1310 determines whether thereare more information appliances are to be controlled. If the controlrequest identifies other information appliances to be controlled, thenthe decision block 1310 causes the local control processing 1300 toreturn to repeat blocks 1304 through 1310 for another of the informationappliances identified by the control request. On the other hand, whenthe decision block 1310 determines that all the identified informationappliances to be controlled have been processed, then the local controlprocessing 1300 is complete and ends.

FIG. 14 is a graphical user interface (GUI) window 1400 for a remotecomputer according to an embodiment of the invention. In particular, theGUI window 1400 is suitable for implementing the displaying of theimages at a remote location via the view processing 940. The GUI window1400 is a representative window for a camera surveillance system for ahome. The GUI window 1400 illustrates program viewing settings 1402which operate to select the location within the home that the user ofthe remote computer desires to view remotely. The GUI window 1400 alsoincludes a viewing window 1404 that displays the image(s) of theselected location. If the images available are video images (e.g., MPEG)or if a series of still images (e.g., JPEG) are present, then a stopbutton 1406, a play button 1408, a rewind button 1410 and a fast forwardbutton 1412 can be used to view different images in a VCR like manner.Further yet, the GUI window 1400 may include a pair of panning controlicons 1416, and a pair of tilting control icons 1418 for real-timecontrol of the camera from a remotely networked computer. In addition,the user may modify the size of the viewing window 1404 by simplydragging out a corner of the viewing window 1404. Although only one roomis shown being viewed at one time, the GUI window 1400 may be modifiedto display multiple rooms or locations on one screen.

FIG. 15 is another GUI window 1500 for a remote computer according to anembodiment of the invention. In particular, the GUI window 1500 issuitable for implementing the displaying of the images at a remotelocation via the remote request processing 1000. The GUI window 1500 isa representative window for an appliance monitoring and control systemfor a home. Here, the GUI window 1500 can display either the statusinformation form (1012) or the control request form (1016) for devicesor appliances in a home, including home security, home utilities, andhome entertainment. Although not illustrated in FIG. 15, the GUI window1500 can further include an area facilitating a user's selection ofnotification request options, thus allowing the user to easily alter thetype and frequency of notification received from a remote location.

Turning first to the home security section of the GUI window 1500, theremote user is able to turn on or off the home cam (i.e., cameraapparatus 402 of FIG. 4) from a remotely networked computer system. Byway of example, if the home owner switches off the home cam when athome, and then later desires to switch the home cam back on remotelywhile on a business trip, the user may log on to the Internet 104 andaccess GUI window 1500 through a browser. Once the home cam is on, thehome owner may desire wish to view video clips of a security breach thatmay have occurred in the living room. To view the security breach, theuser may simply click on the “view security breach” icon which links thehome owner to a GUI window 1600 of FIG. 16 below.

In the middle section of GUI window 1500, the home owner may be providedwith a variety of utility controls. The utility controls may includecontrols for temperature of selected rooms, lighting of selected rooms,and watering of gardens for selected periods of time. In the rightmostportion of GUI window 1500 is a home entertainment control panel. Thiscontrol panel may be linked to one or more VCRs or a digital TV havingan internal buffer for digitally storing broadcast shows, news clips, ormovies from a remote location. In one embodiment, the buffer may bepartitioned into multiple segments that may be re-written continuouslyfor a selected channel after a predetermined period of time lapses(i.e., depending on buffer sizes). By way of example, if the home ownerforgets to set the VCR or digital TV to record day-time programs beforegoing to work, the home owner may simply log onto the Internet, enter apassword to access the custom GUI window 1500 for the homeowner, andthen program the desired viewing channels, recording times, and dates.

FIG. 16 is a GUI window 1600 suitable for displaying on a remotecomputer screen according to an embodiment of the invention. The GUIwindow 1600, for example, indicates to a remotely located interestedperson an alarm condition of a home location. In particular, the GUIwindow 1600 includes a security system status area 1602 that displaysthe status of various devices of an alarm system, including doorsensors, motion sensors, cameras, and switches. The GUI window 1600 alsoincludes an image viewer 1604 for displaying an image or series ofimages. In the GUI window 1600 illustrated, the living room motionsensor and the living room camera both indicate that they have caused analarm condition. In one embodiment, the image viewer 1604 canautomatically display the most appropriate images with respect to thealarm condition, e.g., the living room, and/or could allow the user toselect an image from a list of available images. The alarm conditioncaused the alarm system to forward this status information and/or imageto a user of a remote computer in the various ways previously described.

FIG. 17 is a GUI window 1700 suitable for displaying on a remotecomputer screen according to another embodiment of the invention. TheGUI window 1700, for example, indicates to a remotely located interestedperson patient information such as for a patient in a hospital ornursing home. The GUI window 1700 includes a patient status informationarea 1702 that displays the status of various patient monitoringequipment, patient vitals, and care provided to patient (e.g., meals,bathing, etc.). The patient status area 1702 also illustrates patientselection details for the remote user to specify the hospital (nursinghome), room (or patient) and a password so as to verify that the remoteuser has access privileged to view the particular room (and patient). Ofcourse, the patient selection details could be provided in an earlierscreen to the remote user so as to provide more screen area for actualpatent information. The GUI window 1700 also includes an image viewer1704 for displaying an image or series of images. In the GUI window 1700illustrated, the image is of a bed that is typically provided in a roomof a hospital or nursing home. A control panel 1706 enables the remoteuser to start, stop, fast forward, rewind, and pause a video clip, orchange still images being displayed in the image viewer 1704. Note thatthe image displayed in the image viewer 1704 indicates another camera(CAM 1) in the back area of the room. The control panel would allow theremote user to select the images from the CAM 1 for display in theviewer window 1704.

Further, the GUI window 1708 may further include a camera (CAM) controlpanel 1708 that enables the remote user to control the camerapositioning in the room from remote location so as to obtain the viewwithin the room desired. Additionally, the remote computer displayingthe GUI window 1700 could also provide alerts (e.g., notifications) tothe remote user. The alerts would be electronically transmitted andthese alerts could then be obtained remotely by the remote user andperhaps displayed on the remote computer similar to that illustrated inFIG. 16 with respect to an alarm system. Other types of notificationssuch as discussed above for other embodiments are also possible.

Although the above discussion primarily concerning monitoring pertainsto visual monitoring, the above-described embodiments can also provideaudio monitoring together with the video monitoring. In the case, werethe monitoring stores a video clip (e.g., JPEG), then the audio can bepart of the video clip. Even with still images, audio from the monitoredlocation can also be transmitted to the intermediate server computer orto a user's remote computer. The audio can be sent in a streamingfashion for a real-time audio effect, or can be sent periodically, orcan be send when an alarm or update condition is detected. The amount ofaudio saved and/or transmitted can be reduced by saving or transmittingaudio data pertaining to alarm or update conditions. For example, thesystem could start to save and/or transmit audio data occurring justbefore the alarm or update condition and then continue up until sometime after the alarm or update condition.

Also, although much of the discussion above dealt with one-waymonitoring, detecting or controlling, the monitoring, detecting andcontrolling can also be provided in a two-way manner. With a two-wayconfiguration, visual (and perhaps audio) can be made available touser's at the local location and the remote location. For example, withrespect to FIG. 17, a patient can not only see but also speak with theremote user and vice versa. As another example, a person or animal at ahome location being monitored can communicate (e.g., see and/or hear)with the remote user. The communications had can also be in nearlyreal-time.

The invention can also be embodied as computer readable code on acomputer readable medium. The computer readable medium is any datastorage device that can store data which can be thereafter be read by acomputer system. Examples of the computer readable medium includeread-only memory, random-access memory, CD-ROMs, magnetic tape, opticaldata storage devices, and networks. In the case of networks, computerreadable medium includes a wired or wireless link over which thecomputer readable code is transmitted with electrical signals. Thecomputer readable code can also be distributed over network coupledcomputer systems so that the computer readable code is stored andexecuted in a distributed fashion.

The many features and advantages of the present invention are apparentfrom the written description, and thus, it is intended by the appendedclaims to cover all such features and advantages of the invention.Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur tothose skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention tothe exact construction and operation as illustrated and described.Hence, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to asfalling within the scope of the invention.

1. A television, comprising: an interface for connecting the televisionto a network, the network including the Internet; digital buffersinternal to the television for digitally storing digital programmingdata obtained from a digital provider; and the television beingaccessible through a graphical user interface over the Internet from aremote computing device, the graphical user interface providing acontrol panel for displaying status and at least one control including acontrol for playing or recording of certain channels at least partiallyto the digital buffers that are internal to the television.
 2. Thetelevision of claim 1, wherein the remote computing device displaysfeatures of the graphical user interface upon accessing of thetelevision over the Internet.
 3. The television of claim 2, wherein theremote computing device is a portable computer that can travel with theuser and connects via a wireless link or a cellular link to communicatewith the Internet.
 4. The television of claim 2, wherein the remotecomputing device is a computer that connects via one of a wired link, awireless link or a cellular link to communicate with the Internet. 5.The television of claim 1, wherein the digital programming data includesone or more of shows, movies, and video clips.
 6. The television ofclaim 1, wherein the graphical control screen provides an indication oftelevision broadcasts that are available to be recorded to or playedthrough the digital buffers, when obtained from the digital provider. 7.The television of claim 1, wherein the graphical user interface providesa request for a user name and password for a user to provide access overthe Internet to the television or server connected to the televisionfrom the remote computing device.
 8. The television of claim 7, whereinthe user name and password provides access to home entertainment optionsthat are specific for an account of the user.
 9. The television of claim1, wherein the graphical user interface is provided in part by a webbrowser.
 10. The television of claim 2, wherein images, videos orbroadcasts provided to the television are viewable from the remotecomputing device.
 11. The television of claim 1, wherein the graphicaluser interface provides access to one or more of video, still images,and controls including start, play, stop, fast forward, rewind, andpause.
 12. The television of claim 1, wherein the graphical userinterface is provided with data for populating features of the graphicaluser interface from a server connected to the network, and the serverprovides an indication of television broadcasts that are available to berecorded or played to the digital buffers.
 13. A television, thetelevision comprising: a connection for connecting to a network; digitalbuffers internal to the television for digitally storing digital mediaobtained from a digital provider; and the television being accessiblethrough a graphical user interface, at least part of the graphical userinterface or program associated with the graphical user interface beingaccessible over the network from a remote device, the graphical userinterface providing a control panel for displaying status and at leastone control including a control for recording or playing the digitalmedia at the television.
 14. The television of claim 13, wherein theremote device is a computer, the computer of the remote device displaysdata associated with features of the graphical user interface uponaccessing of the television system over the Internet.
 15. The televisionof claim 14, wherein the computer of the remote device is a portablecomputer that can travel with the user and connects via a wireless linkor a cellular link to communicate with the network or the Internet. 16.The television of claim 14, wherein the computer of the remote device isa computer that connects via one of a wired link, a wireless link or acellular link to communicate with the network or the Internet.
 17. Thetelevision of claim 13, wherein the digital media includes one or moreof shows, movies, and video clips.
 18. A television, the televisioncomprising: a connection for interfacing the television to a network,the network including the Internet; and digital buffers internal to thetelevision for digitally storing digital data obtained from a digitalprovider over the Internet; wherein the digital buffers are accessibleto enable playing of any stored or partially recorded digital datapresent in or transferred to the digital buffers of the television. 19.The television system of claim 18, wherein the digital data includesbroadcast television.
 20. The television system of claim 18, wherein thedigital data includes one or more of shows, movies and video clips.